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Battleships
Overview Battleships are large, heavily armed and armored surface warships, and are amongst the strongest surface combatants in game. Battleships pick firepower and armour over speed, unlike the Battlecruiser which utilizes less armour for more speed. There is a separate class dealing with a more balanced arrangement; the fast battleship, improving the length-width ratio in exchange for superior speed, which of course has it's own compromises. History Originating from the ironclads of the mid 19th century, the first battleships were designed with a main battery of 4 heavy guns, and an array of smaller guns. Such battleships were titled Pre-dreadnought battleships and included ships such as the Shikishima and Texas. In 1906, the Royal Navy introduced HMS Dreadnought, which had 10 heavy guns instead of 4, and no intermediate guns. This new design doctrine, with a focus on a main battery consisting solely of heavy caliber guns, revolutionised battleship design. All battleships from then onwards were built with the same "all heavy gun" battery. The first few years of the Second World War were the heyday of the battleship. Large, formidable and with unrivalled firepower and armour, battleships were seen as the pride of every navy. As battleships became bigger and more heavily armed, some of these ships were termed Super dreadnoughts, in light of their incredible power compared to earlier dreadnoughts. By the closing stages of the Pacific War, however, it was clear that the age of the battleship was coming to an end. Developments in naval aviation and the emergence of guided, high penetration munitions soon meant armour and big guns were no longer the key pieces of the modern front. Today, no battleships remain in active service with any navy. However, they remain an iconic symbol of naval warfare and will remain so for many years to come. In game In game, battleships are exceedingly expensive, and require the player to acquire massive sums of in game resources before one can be built. Compared to their battlecruiser cousins, battleships are tougher and have more firepower, but have reduced mobility. For players looking to overwhelm foes with sheer armour and firepower, the battleship is the best choice. Battleship gun calibers usually range anywhere from 36cm to 40cm, with secondary armaments that may consist of any lower caliber gun. Certain smaller types of battleship may use smaller main guns, but gun caliber is always above 30cm. Types of Battleship Pre-Dreadnought (BB) Pre-dreadnoughts refer to large, gun-carrying capital ships before the Dreadnought revolution. Instead of having a heavy main battery, pre-dreadnoughts usually had fewer main guns coupled with an extensive secondary battery of smaller guns. Most Pre-Dreadnoughts used gun calibers from 30.5cm to 36cm. Dreadnought (BB) The dreadnought type gets its name from HMS Dreadnought, the first of its type. Rather than using fewer large guns and more smaller guns, dreadnoughts focus on a large and powerful main battery instead of secondary guns. Battleships of WWII all counted as dreadnoughts one way or another, as they all focused on heavy main batteries instead of secondaries. Fast Battleships (BB, FBB) Sacrificing some armour for speed, these battleships are somewhat fast. Some are even fast and armored in the same time. The fastest such recorded ships were the Iowa class, cruising at speeds over 32.5 knots. The slowest recorded is the Queen Elizabeth class, with a speed of 25 knots. Despite her speed, the Queen Elizabeth class is regarded as the mother of all Fast Battleships as they were the first to be built. Guided Missle Battleships (BBG) These were planned conversions of existing battleships after WWII. USS Kentucky (BBG-01) was slated to be an Iowa-class conversion to BBG, carrying large amounts of missiles, but the project was cancelled. None were ever built. Gallery FigtingR.jpg|The Renown, a user built battleship. Category:Ship Type Category:Game Related